Missouri Progressive Caucus holds rally in conservative hotbed

Dozens of people gathered at a pub in downtown Springfield Sunday for the kickoff of the Democratic Progressive Party Caucus.

Image courtesy of the Missouri Democratic Progressive Caucus

Several candidates hoping to represent Missouri attended the event yesterday afternoon in hopes of winning the next round of elections.

The city’s Democratic state Representative Crystal Quade is up for reelection. She attended and spoke at the event.

The party says the event was meant to get people excited about the progressive caucus and to inform people about political issues in Missouri.

“One thing is racial equity across the land,” said Cori Bush, who is running in the Democratic primary against longtime incumbent eastern Missouri U.S. Congressman William Lacy Clay. “You know we have to have that health care is important, making sure everybody has health care. Mental health services. A livable wage is necessary right here in Missouri as we know.”

The Missouri Democratic Progressive Caucus has an internet domain that says “New website coming soon” and indicates the site is 30% completed. It also has a Facebook page where the most recent post on December 14th announced the formation of four new subcommittees that will report directly to the organization’s executive committee.

Another Facebook post says “The Missouri Democratic Party Progressive caucus is open to any progressive Democrat in the state of Missouri. Our Mission is to encourage involvement of other progressives, identify and recruit progressive candidates for office, and develop a progressive state platform.”

The St. Louis City Democratic Central Committee website offers an explanation about how the Progressive Caucus was formed. It said, “In the aftermath of the 2016 elections a group of like-minded Democrats got together to begin to build a Progressive wing of the party.

Southwest Missouri, which is where Springfield is located, has long had a reputation as a staunchly conservative area.

Missourinert media partner KOLR-TV contributed most of the content for this story.